When a computer program has been developed, it may be necessary to analyze the execution details. Such an analysis is necessary to improve the performance of the many operations going on within the program. For example, if an operation takes too much time, a user of the program is apt to think it is inefficient and therefore not worth purchase. However, if all necessary operations proceed as quickly as possible, a user of the system is more likely to find value and therefore want to purchase the program.
Thus, a performance analyst must determine what occurs underneath the program. To do so, the performance analyst can run an execution trace which will provide feedback as to what occurs during execution. Performance trace tools currently exist which typically display for analyst review a verbal report of the operations that have occurred. The analyst must then read each line of the report and attempt to visualize a composite of what occurs throughout the program. Such a trace may be simplistic in what it can detect and yet turn out great volumes of information that the analyst may be hard-pressed to analyze. Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus which will allow a performance analyst to visually display program performance trace data for accurate analysis thereof.